The Harvard women's basketball team, unable to put together a sustained drive, never fully recovered from a dismal start and fell, 69-60, to Yale last night at the IAB.

Yale eliminated Harvard, 50-43, in the semi-finals of the Ivy League Championships two weeks ago, and went on to take the League title from Princeton.

The smaller Bulldog squad dominated the Crimson under the boards early and jumped to a 12-2 lead with less than five' minutes gone. Freshman center Karen Smith kept Harvard in the contest by scoring the team's first nine points.

Mid-riff Bulge

Yale extended its bulge to 25-9 at the half's midway point before the hoopsters put on their first charge of the evening. Sophomore Stacie McMahon and freshman Dorris Woolery hit back-to-back jumpers to pull Harvard within eight points, but turnovers and bad shooting prevented a sustained charge.

With Woolery at the high post and center Elaine Holpuch playing low, the Crimson seemed to have figured out the Yale 1-3-1 zone, and Holpuch made it 39-36 with less than four minutes gone.

Junior captain Caryn Curry scored a picturesque three-point play off an eleven-foot jumper, but another team-wide mental journey outside the IAB let Yale pull to a ten-point lead.

The fatal lapse came with five minutes left. After Yale's Susie Krentz and Sue Melone converted two Harvard turnovers into field goals, forward Lisa Brummel netted a stirring three-point play on a reverse lay-up for a 62-51 Bulldog lead.

Kleinfelder moved the cagers into a full-court person-to-person press with 4:25 remaining, but Yale coolly ran out the clock for its tenth win against nine losses.

The Crimson, now 15-8, received unexpected help from a substitute and predictable excellence from a starter. Sophomore McMahon, back after a fall term leave of absence, came off the bench and scored seven points, grabbed six steals, tossed four assists and led each hoopster drive. Center Holpuch, as she has so many times this season, led the game in points with 20 and in rebounds with 13. with 13.

"I was really pleased with Stacie, Dorris [Woolery] and Elaine. Those are three inexperienced players who all played well, and that'll be good for the future," Kleinfelder said.

Also in the Good Signs for the Future Department was the junior varsity's 52-51 victory over Yale on Lori Christiansen's jump shot with 17 seconds remaining.